By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard The Giants could have just rolled over, down 2-0 heading into the ninth. Martin Perez threw quite possibly the best game baseball has seen this year, and he showed no signs of letting up, needing just 75 pitches to complete eight innings. But the comeback kids almost did it for the second day in a row, nearly preventing Texas from spoiling Mike Leake’s sparkling debut….

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard I want to say that the Giants should trade ballparks with the Rangers (They wouldn’t need Cole Hamels) to infuse a little action, but then again, I love pitchers duels. Even with Cole Hamels on the mound, it was a Wild West showdown in Arlington on Saturday night, as the Giants surged back from a three-run, eighth inning deficit to beat the Rangers and their…

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard As we’ve been expecting for eons, the Giants didn’t have the prospects to get Cole Hamels or David Price and settled for Mike Leake, the Giants announced Thursday, who will replace Tim Hudson in the rotation. Bochy’s talk that Hudson was “our guy” clearly was just smoke and mirrors. According to Chris Cotillo, Hudson is willing to give the bullpen a chance (An attempt that probably…

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard The Rangers traded for Cole Hamels on Wednesday, but that might not be too discouraging for Giants fans. The Giants have Jake Peavy, the right-handed version of Hamels. Maybe I’m saying this to console myself, but it’s not that outlandish. Even though he technically got a no-decision, Peavy was able to shut out the Brewers in six innings of work, and propelled the Giants to a…

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard If Tuesday’s game, a disheartening 5-2 loss to the Brewers, didn’t convince Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean that the Giants need to acquire Cole Hamels or another marquee starting pitcher, nothing will. Matt Cain was uninspiring, to say the least, in six innings of four-run ball. Many, including myself, had hoped that Cain would help stabilize the rocky rotation, especially after a strong outing last time…

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard My Twitter feed has been really jumbled recently. Trades reportedly done, falling through, and then magically getting back in place. The clutter what we love about the trade deadline, and it has been no different for the Giants this July, with rumors swirling about nearly every available player on the market. Let’s try to make sense of all of the rumors that are pervading the…

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard Tim Hudson finally got that elusive win over his former club, the Oakland Athletics, the last team he hadn’t beaten in his career. It was a feat that took 17 seasons to accomplish, a quite impressive accomplishment that only fourteen other pitchers can claim. But a spot in the Giants starting rotation should not be doled out as a career achievement award, and Hudson’s shaky…

By: Ben Leonard Follow @ben___leonard Maybe Billy Beane should consider finally making his first trade with the Giants to bolster his offense: acquire Madison Bumgarner as a DH. From Oakland’s perspective, it’s not too far-fetched: after Saturday’s big day at the dish and on the hill, Bumgarner has a higher OPS than all but two of Oakland’s starters. Too bad the Giants would never trade their man. Just an added…

Follow @joe_lami By: Joe Lami SANTA CLARA, Calif.–The 2015 Guinness International Champions Cup wrapped up it’s trip to the Bay Area on Saturday with a grand matchup between FC Barcelona and Manchester United. Over 68,000 fans packed Levi’s Stadium to see the two global powers take part in the cup draw. FC Barcelona traveled to the United States without two of their strongest players in Neymar and Messi, known as…

By: Lizzie Siegle Do not count the Giants out or write them off. At the All Star Break, they had fallen to four and a half games behind the first-place Dodgers. Since July twelfth, the Giants are 6-1, scoring 37 runs in seven games. Over a quarter of those runs came in their 9-3 victory over the A’s Friday night at home, kicking off a 3-game Battle of the Bay. Friday’s win…